Our Fitness Blog

Focus on the Process… Not The Results

You have set some fantastic goals for yourself. Maybe it's a weight loss goal in terms of losing a total amount of pounds. Or, maybe it's losing a certain amount of weight in a certain period of time. Or, maybe it's an athletic performance goal. Regardless, these are all fantastic goals. And, on the surface, it seems as if it would be a huge positive to continue to focus on the goal/the result. But, often times, this is what derails individuals from achieving success. They are focused on the result and this is exactly what is impeding progress and not allowing their goals and dreams to become a reality.

We have to take our eyes off of the mountaintop and we simply have to look straight down and focus on that next step; because it's that next successful step that will get us one step closer to the mountaintop.

When we set these big goals, it's like each goal is the peak of a mountaintop. And, when we set the goal, we are standing at the base of the mountain. We get excited and many times overzealous in setting these huge goals. We are pumped, motivated and optimistic. At first, we have an "I’ll do whatever it takes" mentality as we are setting these goals. But, shortly thereafter, we let negative thoughts creep in. We start to question ourselves regarding the goals that we have set. We start to ask "how?" We are standing at the base of the mountain and we are looking up at that goal that we just set for ourselves which is the peak of the mountain. And we are now asking ourselves, "How am I ever going to get there?" It is this type of mindset and thought process that can start to get us off our game and significantly impede progress. How do we avoid this so that each goal we set can be turned from fantasy, into reality?

The answer is simple; once we set the goal, don't think about the result. When an individual sets a goal like, "I want to lose 50 pounds." They become so focused and over focused on the result and every move they make is based around the result they're looking to achieve. A huge step in this process is to shift the focus from results-focused to the world of… Process-focused.

Results are simply the positive byproduct of a great process

Remember, we cannot control the results. Actually, we have zero control over the results. So why would we waste any time, effort, energy or attention on something we cannot control? What do we have 100% control over? Well, we have 100% control over the process. Therefore, all of our time, effort, energy, attention and focus must be placed on what we can control and that is the process, not the results. What is the process? Well, it all depends on what an individual's goals are.

For example, if weight loss is the goal, the process is:

Getting the right amount of sleep each night, 7-8 hours

Consistency with your workouts

Working out smarter (the proper heart rate zones) and not harder

Eating right (not just eating healthy)

By focusing on the process, now we are putting our effort and energy towards what we can control. And remember, results are simply the positive byproduct of a great process. We cannot focus on the results and expect to get results. We must focus on the process. We must perfect the process. We must make this great process a habit each and every day. And when we do so, we are setting ourselves up for great success and in time, results will happen.

Typically, when individuals set weight loss goals, every food choice they make is based around calories. They tend to select foods that are low-calorie; something like an 80 cal snack. They think that because it is low-calorie, it will help them lose weight. This choice is focused all around the results. The thought process of the individual is this, "if I eat this low calorie snack, it will help me lose weight." This is a result-focused mindset. How do we change to a process-focused mindset?

Well, it's as simple as this; our food choices need to be based on one question "is this meal/snack properly fueling my body and not just feeding my body?" We have 100% control over the choices we make for our meals and snacks. The focus of fueling the body properly at every meal and snack is 180° away from choosing a snack because it's low-calorie and thinking it will help one lose weight, make sense?

Let's look at an individual that has an athletic performance goal. Let's say a runner has a goal to take one minute off of their 5K running time; this is a fantastic goal of course. But, if every time the runner goes out to do a workout they just try to run harder and harder thinking that this will help them get faster and reduce their time by one minute, they're not going to reach their goal. This is a very results-focused mindset.

Rather, this runner needs to become process-focused and ensure that each workout is very purposeful and that they are working out in the right heart rate zones. This runner needs to become process-focused and ensure that their body is properly fueled from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed. This runner needs to become process-focused to ensure that they are getting the right amount of sleep each night. This runner needs to become process-focused to ensure that they are properly stretching and using the foam roller each day in order to improve recovery and reduce risk of injury. This is how the runner will achieve their goal; not by focusing on just running faster each workout, rather, by focusing on the process each day, each week, each month. And then, the results will become the positive byproduct of a great process.

If you are ready to break through that ceiling, raise the bar and find that next level of success, it's as simple as this… Shift the mindset from being results-focused into the world of being process-focused. We have to take our eyes off of the mountaintop and we simply have to look straight down and focus on that next step; because it's that next successful step that will get us one step closer to the mountaintop.